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–+ servings
Lemon Bar with a bite out of it.
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5 from 36 votes

Classic Lemon Bars

These classic old fashioned lemon bars have everything you love in lemon squares; sharp lemony citrus paired with buttery shortbread base. Just sweet enough with a tangy lemon bite.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Cooling Time1 hour
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 16 Servings
Calories: 159kcal
Author: Laura

Ingredients

BASE LAYER

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt if using salted butter you can omit the salt
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter cut in pieces, if salted you can omit the salt

TOP LAYER

  • 2 whole eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 TBSP lemon zest
  • 2 1/2 TBSP lemon juice use fresh lemon juice if possible
  • 2 1/2 TBSP flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 TBSP confectioners sugar

Instructions

  • preheat oven to 350˚
  • prepare an 8x8 pan by lightly buttering it and lining it with parchment paper, set the prepared pan aside
    Buttered baking pan lined with parchment paper.
  • combine base layer ingredients in the bowl of a food processor, pulse to combine, stop when it looks like crumbs, and press in the bottom of the prepared baking pan
    Shortbread crumbs pressed in the bottom of a baking pan.
  • bake for 20 minutes in a preheated oven
  • Meanwhile mix the eggs and sugar until thick
    Eggs and sugar in a bowl.
  • stir in the lemon juice and zest
    Lemon zest over a bowl of lemon bar filling.
  • stir the flour and baking powder together in a small bowl, sift it over the eggs then whisk them together
  • When the baked cookie layer is done and lightly golden brown take it out of the oven and pour the lemon egg custard mixture over the baked crust layer
    Lemon bar filling poured over the hot cookie crust.
  • return the pan to the oven and bake again for 20-30 minutes or until the filling is set
    Fresh baked lemon bars without powdered sugar.
  • let the pan of bars cool on a wire rack and sprinkle with extra powdered sugar if desired
    Powdered sugar in a sieve to sprinkle over the citrus bars.
  • lift the cooled bars out of the pan by the edges of the parchment paper left hanging over the edges of the pan peel back the paper and trim the crusts
    Lemon bars lifted out of the pan and the edges trimmed off.
  • lay the whole pan of bars on the cutting board and use a sharp knife to cut them into bars
    Classic lemon bars cut in squares and sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 159kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 67mg | Potassium: 23mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 207IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg